Some time ago, I stumbled upon a recipe online that demonstrated through a video how to prepare a real almond granita, listing ingredients that in my opinion are absolutely unnecessary! As a good Catanese, I couldn’t help but disagree! I won’t mention the blog in question for privacy reasons, but I’m telling you that the Sicilian recipe does not include either vanilla pods or additional sugar! Almond paste, together with water, are the only ingredients needed to obtain an excellent creamy and delicious granita! The almond paste block is actually a preparation of Sicilian pastry that, besides being the base for making granita, can be used for many other well-known and widespread desserts in the area. Overlooking this aspect, today I will give you some tips about the dosage of these two ingredients, for which I must thank the kind and cordial staff of Bar Trento in Catania, who generously shared it with me! If you are Sicilian and have the fortune or possibility to buy the block at any laboratory or pastry shop as I do, follow these few simple steps and you will enjoy a true Catanese granita! Otherwise, in well-stocked supermarkets, it is possible to find the block of a famous Sicilian brand ready for use. But please, for this specific preparation, never buy almond milk bricks, it’s absolutely not the same thing! If you can’t even find the block in the supermarket, you can find all the steps to prepare it yourself at home in the almond paste block, or in the ingredients section, I leave you the reference link to buy it ready-made. So, get a notepad and dive into reading these recipes to discover the pleasure of enjoying an alternative and I’d say unique breakfast in the world!
Also try these other fantastic typical Sicilian preparations, accompanying them with the mythical brioches col tuppo:
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 10 Hours 10 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 12 oz almond paste
- 4 cups water
Tools
⚠ THIS RECIPE CONTAINS ONE OR MORE AFFILIATE LINKS. The products I recommend are the same ones I use in my recipes; purchasing them through my blog helps support me and my work, while it will not cost you anything extra!
- 1 Saucepan
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Food Processor
- 1 Ice Cream Maker
Preparation
In a saucepan, warm the water for 1′. Then turn off and add the almond paste cut into chunks.
With the help of a spoon, dissolve the almond paste completely.
It’s really important at this stage that there are no residues, so make sure that dipping the spoon does not reveal traces.
At this point, if you have an ice cream maker, you just have to pour the almond milk to freeze the processing. In the case of a sorbet maker, transfer the milk into a saucepan and put in the freezer for at least 8 h, but it would be better overnight. The next day it will be well frozen, and you will have to break it into coarse pieces with the help of a spoon.
Transfer the still frozen mixture little by little into the sorbet maker and you will get your granita.
Serve immediately, so it maintains its creamy consistency.
To enjoy it to the fullest, you can accompany the granita by preparing the typical brioches col tuppo .
It will be excellent with a few teaspoons of espresso coffee on top.
And voila…your almond granita is ready to be enjoyed!
Bon Appétit from La Cucina di FeFé!
Advice and Tips
🟣 * If you don’t have a sorbet maker, you can use a powerful blender. Another method, much older, though less convenient, is to set aside about 50 ml of almond milk to keep in the fridge and scrape the frozen part with the spoon, helping little by little with the liquid one. Although with more effort, you will still achieve a creamy consistency like at the bar.
